Tag: Arlen

Arlen Specter (R-Pa.), the Senate Judiciary chairman, will introduce a bill that will allow Congress to sue Bush in federal court with the aim of having Bush’s signing statements (“interpretations” used to skirt a law’s provisions) declared unconstitutional. (h/t: Huff Po)Way to go, Arlen.

From CNN: Sen. Arlen Specter revealed a bill that would require a court to review the constitutionality of the National Security Agency’s controversial intelligence-gathering program, saying the deal was negotiated with the Bush administration’s cooperation, and that Bush would sign the bill if it doesn’t change dramatically.

Sen. Arlen Specter went on TV to vehemently deny a Washington Post report that he had proposed legislation which included blanket amnesty for everyone involved with Bush’s warrantless spying. But lawyer Glenn Greenwald has apparently proved that the Post was right in its report—and the Specter had lied about it.

The Republican senator announced the move in the wake of news that Bush used “signing statements” to assert his supposed right to circumvent more than 750 laws passed over the last five years.Legal scholars say the breadth of Bush’s use of “signing statements” is unprecedented.